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Saturday, July 30, 2016

30 July - Blogs I'm Following

*July 31, 2016* (The New Atlas) - Consensus among the United States and Russia is rare, but just such a consensus was reached, at least rhetorically, in the wake of Jabhat Al Nusra's apparent break with Al Qaeda and an attempt to rebrand itself as Syrian forces completed their encirclement of Syria's northern city of Aleppo. Qatari state broadcaster Al Jazeera in its report "Al-Nusra leader Jolani announces split from al-Qaeda," stated: *Abu Mohammed al-Jolani appeared in camera for the first time to announce his group's name has also changed to Jabhat Fath al Sham, or The Front for...more »

*July 31, 2016 *(The New Atlas) - Political developments are often emotionally charged, and even journalists who are expected to maintain an objective approach to reporting can find themselves swept away by sensational headlines and the temptation to wade into controversy without fully analysing background information that might significantly alter established narratives. Because of this, some journalists find themselves playing the role of commentator rather than investigator, often leaving out critical information in a rush to contribute to one of two sides amid a political divi...more »

[image: rant-jpeg-b] Sunday again, and once again time for my weekend rant... I covered so much material on my Thursday "special rant", but there is so much else that has been missing that I missed... Hopefully I can cover much of that right here and to give my usual "two cents worth" of opinion.... First and foremost, I got several interesting comments sent my way asking me why I never have anything "good" to say and why I always show the so called "dark side" of our society... .I honestly am sick of these clowns and their efforts to somehow put out the false claim that I am evil ...more »

Hillary Clinton performed the oldest magic trick in the book – pay attention to this hand while I do something else with the other – when she said “we will work to get money out of politics” on the same day she accepted a $25 million dollar donation from George Soros. Don’t expect to read anything in the mainstream media about puppet master George Soros emerging from the shadows to steer Clinton’s campaign. There is no investigative journalism left in the corporate media. Have you heard any mention of election fraud? Any discussion of James Comey’s outrageous recommendation not to p...more »

Hillary Clinton has vowed to invade Syria and kill President Assad if she is elected President of the United States. Clinton’s policy adviser confirmed that one of Hillary’s first priorities upon taking office will be to shift the focus in Syria towards attacking Assad and orchestrating a regime change. Antiwar.com reports: Clinton’s aide, former Pentagon chief of staff Jeremy Bash, insisted that Assad’s was a “murderous regime” and that US foreign policy would be to escalate both the war against ISIS and this new war against Assad to get both “out of there” at the same time. Syria...more »

A U.S. citizen has come forward offering conclusive proof of voter fraud in the recent Democratic primaries. Elliot Crown says that all of the NYC counties that Hillary Clinton won, were won using this special black box. Democracyintegrity.org reports: After delving into the investigations of mathematician and numerical control engineer Richard Charnin, FBI journalist investigator Greg Palast and election investigator and analyst Bev Harris, an Italian observer of American politics becomes persuaded not only that statistical methods can show when fraud has taken place, but that in ...more »

Witnesses at the recent Democratic National Convention say that Bernie Sanders had a noticeable gash on the right side of his face that he was trying to hide. The cut was on the right cheekbone and has given rise to questions about whether or not the Vermont Senator was physically beaten-up by somebody within the DNC. Halturnershow.com reports: Images of Sanders from Monday show no wound on his face. However, images from Tuesday evening clearly show a gash on his right cheek, of a type one might expect from being punched by a fist which had a ring on it. The gash is quite deep, ce...more »

A French school teacher has been placed under criminal investigation for allegedly posting a comment about the Holocaust on her Facebook page. France’s Education Ministry have ordered an investigation into the teacher who they say instructed her students to follow her page, where she wrote “The Shoah was designed and organized by Jews.” Haaretz.com reports: CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish communities, complained to the ministry about the teacher earlier this week, according to a report Thursday in the group’s newsletter. It did not name the female teacher in question but s...more »

The Pentagon have released a report outlining a timeline for ushering in the New World Order across the globe. According to the Pentagon’s research unit, by 2035 the U.S. will no longer be considered the world’s superpower as Russia or China will have overtaken America in terms of military and economic power. Rt.com reports: In just 20 years, the US and its allies will live in a world where shaping a global order the way they have since the end of the Cold War would be increasingly difficult, if not impossible, Pentagon’s research division, the Defense Technical Information Center (...more »

Federal officials have begun door to door testing of citizens in Florida for the Zika virus. Four people have tested positive in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, health officials admitted on Friday. CNN reports: These are the first known cases of the virus being transmitted by mosquitoes in the continental United States. “While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area,” according to a statement from the Florida Department of Health. “As we anticipated, Zika is here,”...more »

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has boasted that she is tougher than Russian President Vladimir Putin. During a campaign announcement on Saturday, Clinton boasted that “I’ve stood up to adversaries like Putin,” claiming that she is more than equipped to similarly stand up to Trump too. Breitbart.com reports: Hillary said, “I’ve stood up to adversaries like Putin, and reinforced allies like Israel. And I was in the situation room on the day we got bin laden. But I know, I know we have to be smart, as well as strong. Meeting today’s global challenges requires every e...more »

Yesterday Ken, Will and I took the train from Pyeongtaek, South Korea two hours south for a day long tour of the perimeter of the US Kunsan Air Force Base. Our guide and translator drove us from one end of the base to the other. Near the end of the visit we can upon a two-story watch tower near to the base runway and discovered five village grandpas playing a card game inside the open air upper space. After introducing ourselves as members of Veterans For Peace we requested if we could ask them some questions about the base and film their responses. They eagerly agreed and beg...more »

*The Economist*: *The Saudi bombardment of Yemen. Worse than the Russians* *The West is abetting vast loss of life.* NINETY years ago Britain’s planes bombed unruly tribes in the Arabian peninsula to firm up the rule of Abdel Aziz ibn Saud, the founder of the Saudi state. Times have changed but little since then. Together with America and France, Britain is now supplying, arming and servicing hundreds of Saudi planes engaged in the aerial bombardment of Yemen. Though it has attracted little public attention or parliamentary oversight, the scale of the campaign currently surpasses ...more »

*Washington Post:* *Backlash for Trump after he lashes out at the Muslim parents of a dead U.S. soldier* Republican Donald Trump lashed out Saturday at two Muslim American parents who lost their son while he served in the U.S. military in Iraq and who appeared at the Democratic National Convention last week, stirring outrage among critics who said the episode proves that Trump lacks the compassion and temperament to be president. Asked to comment on the convention speech of Khizr Khan, a Pakistani immigrant whose son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, died in Iraq in 2004, Trump described...more »

*Zero Hedge*: *Hedge-Fund Handouts: Hillary Clinton $48,500,000 - $19,000 Donald Trump* Hedge funds are playing a far bigger role in 2016 than in past elections - and, as The Wall Street Journal reports, Hillary Clinton has been the single biggest beneficiary. The lines around what constitutes a hedge fund aren’t always clear in the data, or in the financial industry. But the numbers are stark. The top five contributors to pro-Clinton groups are employees or owners of private investment funds, according to federal data released last week and compiled by OpenSecrets.org, the cente...more »

President Barack Obama meets with members of his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House, January 29, 2010. The President’s chair is marked with a plaque engraved with the date of his inauguration. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Derek Chollet, National Interest: *How Obama's Foreign Policy 'Long Game' Works* *It's a framework or checklist, not a doctrine.* This week, a central theme of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia has been that the United States is stronger at home and better positioned in the world than it was eight years ago—and that President Ba...more »

*Daily Mail*: *Married skydiver Luke Aikins become the first to jump 25,000 feet into a net without a parachute* * Aikins jumped 25,000 into a net Saturday evening in Simi Valley, California * Found out he had to wear a parachute just hours before - but did not use it * The skydiver, 42, has done more than 18,000 jumps and stunts in Ironman 3 * His four-year-old son and his wife both watched his record-breaking jump An American skydiver has become the first of his trade to jump 25,000 feet into a net - without a parachute. Luke Aikins, 42, completed the record-breaking stunt on Sat...more »

*Reuters:* *Many Islamic State leaders trying to flee to Syria: Iraqi minister* Many Islamic State leaders have fled Mosul with their families toward Syria ahead of a planned offensive by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on the city, Iraq's defense minister said on Saturday. Khaled al-Obeidi said he had intelligence of increasing conflict, especially over financial issues, among ultra-hardline militants of the group known as Daesh in Arabic by its enemies. "Many Daesh families and leaders in Mosul have sold their property and sneaked out towards Syria, and a segment even tried to sneak o...more »

*CNN*: *Syrian families trickle out of Aleppo, reports say* (CNN)Dozens of families have started to trickle out of war-ravaged Aleppo, days after the Syrian army announced it encircled the city and cut off rebel supply routes, according to reports. The families moved out of eastern Aleppo on Saturday through humanitarian corridors set up by the regional government, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. The civilians were "besieged by the terrorist groups in the eastern neighborhoods" and crossed into the Salahaddin section of the city, where Syrian army units sent them ...more »

DNC emails released by Wikileaks reveal that Debbie Wasserman Schultz approved sponsorship of the opposition in Venezuela. Before resigning as the Democratic Party leader, Schultz, who was also U.S. Congresswoman for Florida, supported sanctions against the Venezuelan government in an effort to gain support from members of the opposition in her home state. Telesurtv.net reports: Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez, among other senators, co-sponsored the bill which sought to impose sanctions against the elected government of Nicolas Maduro. Wasserman Schultz along with representatives Ilea...more »

*Nuclear War on Earth* Folks, I don't like what I'm seeing in the aftermath of the failed attempted coup on Turkey. I've been saying all along I don't like what's going on at the NATO base in Turkey called Incirlik. Here is the latest from WHATREALLYHAPPENED.COM: "1,000s Turkish forces surround NATO’s Incirlik air base for ‘inspection’ amid rumors of coup attempt Some 7,000 armed police with heavy vehicles have surrounded and blocked the Incirlik air base in Adana used by NATO forces, already restricted in the aftermath of a failed coup. Unconfirmed *reports say troops were sent...more »

usually these Abstract Expressionist paintings I've been doing (70+ paintings in 2016 so far) are done in threes, at least this way I can semi-control some sense of unity in collection before my mind races off on another vocab/grammer hunt in search of that elusive perfect vision. That one complete dictionary of this chosen art form. It all started with this recent painting... *100 cm by 50 cm* It's a re-painting, and I've done several of these already, where an old painting that I'm a little dissatisfied with or at that time doesn't fit with the flow of study invested in the piece...more »

For the last few days, I have been living in a chaos of crashing computer, non-functioning printer, and dead cell phone. I have not watched much of the convention debates in the US. I have not watched because, frankly, I don't care that Chelsea thinks (or reads from a prepared speech by a speechwriter) that her mommy is a wonderful person. Ditto for the offspring and the partner of Trump. Nor do I care to waste time listening to the two candidates exchange insults and witticisms to the cheers of obviously dim-witted audiences. I heard no reference to any of the major crises facing ...more »

I spent yesterday getting some much needed rest after my vacation to Banff Alberta... Is it not amazing how sometimes we all need a rest break upon returning from vacation? But I did have my laptop with me, and periodically checked on what has been happening around the world, and especially how the war in Syria to free itself from the tyranny of the US/Israel/NATO criminal cabal has turned in favour of the Syrian people! I have long said in so many previous articles and my weekend rants that the war in Syria will effectively be OVER for the criminal cabal once the good guys, the S...more »

[image: Poland Pope Pilgrims_perr__1469617576_71.164.139.145] BRZEGI, Poland (AP) -- Pope Francis challenged hundreds of thousands of young people who gathered in a sprawling Polish meadow to reject being a “couch potato” who retreats into video games and computer screens and instead engage in social activism...more »

GOOD DOGGIE! Posted on July 30, 2016 Please post & distribute. MNN. July 30, 2016. Crime and its offshoots are the economic base of corporate America, starting with genocide and theft of our lands and resources. US minds have been readjusted from the natural instinct to survive, to everything being monetized. The rules for the values, life and direction are designed and implemented by

[image: In God We Trust, One Dollar Bill, U.S. Treasury, Currency] Sixty years ago today, as the Cold War gained steam, "In God We Trust" became America's national motto. Signed into law by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the phrase was established two years after "Under God" made it into the...more »

US İncirlik air base cordoned off by municipality trucks and bulldozers due to 2nd coup rumors. Turkey pic.twitter.com/EuykMQ0m5w — ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) July 31, 2016 *News.com.au:* *Reports Turkish troops have sealed off Incirlik US/NATO nuclear air base* TURKEY has sent police to surround the Incirlik air base it operates with the United States — and where a large stockpile of NATO nuclear weapons is held — ahead of a visit by a senior US official tomorrow. Unconfirmed reports out of Turkey suggest all entrances to the air base have been blocked by heavy vehicles and ...more »

*VICE News*: *Hostage situation at police station triggers violent protests in Armenia* Riot police and pro-opposition protesters clashed again on Saturday in Armenia's capital Yerevan, a day after at least 75 demonstrators were injured when they tried to approach the scene of an ongoing hostage situation inside a police compound. The standoff began on July 17 when around 30 armed members of an opposition group stormed a police station and took several hostages. The hostage-takers are demanding the release of Jirair Sefilian, the leader of the country's Founding Parliament opposi...more »

Yesterday, Joe Scarborough said he thinks Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan need to withdraw their endorsements of Trumpy-the-Clown and tell their members to do likewise. "He's so self consumed, it's just breathtaking... You've got to cut him loose." Watch that video up top of the segment; it's pretty remarkable for a center-right show like *Morning Joe*. But it isn't just cowardly Republicans like McConnell, Ryan and Marco Rubio who have endorsed Trump and are actively campaigning to elect him, normalizing a candidate who is far from normal by any stretch of anyone's imagination. In ...more »

(Actual response to an actual beg I just got from Donald Trump.) Boy, did *you* ask the wrong guy for help. How the fuck did I get on your noxious begging list? Did you buy it from some liberal organization like Moveon or a charity such as the MSPCA or from an old magazine subscription such as *The Nation*? I would expect that kind of casual hypocrisy from the Orange Man. And even if I *were* a Republican, I would *still *find it repugnant to give any amount of money to a multibillionaire who'd earlier in his village roadshow of a campaign pledged to fund it entirely from ...more »

Am I the only one who thinks Clinton-Kaine are reminiscent of a nice midwestern couple who move in next door and borrow a cup of sugar? — Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 30, 2016 ...to which yours truly responds. .@JoyAnnReid Yeah, if that couple then drops the cup & breaks out the duct tape & French knives before cutting your phone lines. Sure. — Mike Flannigan (@MikeFlannigan59) July 30, 2016 However, that didn't satisfy me, since this election cycle, more than ever, makes me want to go over the top. So when I read Joy Reid's incredibly stupid and insipid tweet about Hill ...more »

Victor Marchetti used the expression "cult of intelligence" to denounce what he viewed as a counterproductive mindset and culture of secrecy, elitism, amorality and lawlessness within and surrounding the Central Intelligence Agency in the service of American imperialism: There exists in our nation today a powerful and dangerous secret cult -- the cult of intelligence. Its holy men are the clandestine professionals of the Central Intelligence Agency. Its patrons and protectors are the highest officials of the federal government. Its membership, extending far beyond governmental cir...more »

[image: PUTIN] It's easy to see why Vladimir Putin has emerged as the lodestar of certain elements of the political right across the West. Russia's president poses as the champion of nationalism vs. rampant transnationalism, of Christianity vs. secularism, and of European...more »

When I first became aware of the "global warming" debate in late 2009 (a debate which was, years later, infamously changed to "climate change" when the "global warming pause" from 1997 to the present made it "politically expedient" to direct attention away from the continuing LACK of scientifically measurable global warming), I knew as a hard scientist that to find the truth I needed to dive to the heart of the matter and first seek definitive evidence CONTRARY to the consensus climate theory (of the "global warming greenhouse effect"), because there is no use holding, much less pr...more »

Thousands from across Germany took to the streets of Berlin on Saturday in a mass protest against Angela Merkel’s open-door asylum policy. Germany has suffered a number of terror attacks recently, some of which were carried out by refugees. Right wing anti-immigration politicians are expected to address a ‘huge’ crowd in Berlin’s historic Washington Square. The Daily Express reports: News of the gathering is being spread under the hashtag #Merkelmussweg – meaning Merkel must go – which has been used more than 1,500 times in 24 hours reaching hundreds of thousands of people. Police a...more »

[image: Oil Rig, Fracking Drill Rig, Gasoline, Crude Oil, Oil Industry, Natural Gas] An oil drilling company operating in the Permian Basin shale formation can extract crude for as little as $2 a barrel, meaning it can compete with Saudi Arabia in terms of production costs. "Definitely we can compete with anything that Saudi...more »

[image: European Commission's mission chief for Greece, Declan Costello speaks next to International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief for Greece, Delia Velculescu, right, during an Economy conference, in Lagonisi southeast of Athens, on Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Greece's left-led government wants to ease its budgetary saving commitments after its current multi-billion euro bailout ends in 2018, a senior official says. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)] CAIRO (AP) -- A delegation from the International Monetary Fund arrived in Egypt on Saturday, responding to a request for a multibillio...more »

[image: FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2014, file photo, a screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange is juxtaposed with the Goldman Sachs booth. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reports financial results Tuesday, July 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)] Goldman Sachs has been subpoenaed for its alleged connections to a global corruption ring, according to reports Friday. Goldman Sachs, a worldwide leading investment bank with ties to the 2008 banking crisis, faced subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more »

[image: An investigator works at the scene of a multiple murder in the Chenault Beach neighborhood of Mukilteo, Wash., Saturday July 30, 2016. A suspect was apprehended three counties away, said Officer Myron Travis of the Mukilteo Police Department. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times via AP)] SEATTLE (AP) -- A gunman attacked a gathering of young adults at a suburban Seattle home early Saturday, killing two people at a fire pit before firing more shots from the roof, the grandmother of one of the witnesses said....more »

A hot air balloon with 16 people on board caught fire and crashed in central Texas. The balloon came down 30 miles from Austin near the city of Lockhart on Saturday morning, with all on board feared dead. No Survivors After Hot Air Balloon Catches Fire and Crashes in #Lockhart Texas https://t.co/Q3O98WLX8i pic.twitter.com/F1nI04dhUI — KTEM (@ktemnews) July 30, 2016 CNN reports: There were no survivors in the crash near Lockhart, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to CNN affiliate TWC News Austin. Here’s the latest information on the crash: — The National Transp...more »

Not to worry... *"Polls Show Trump with MAJOR Lead over Hillary in Presidential Race"* "July 30, 2016. National Polling is out showing Donald Trump enjoying a major lead ahead of Hillary Clinton for the US Presidential Election. They also show that Hillary did NOT get any "Bounce" from the Democrat Convention. Full article at link:" - https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/1733

Files released by the FBI have revealed that Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein was under government surveillance for her activism work in support of Palestinian causes. The files were released in response to a Freedom of Information request by writer and researcher Waqas Mirza. Epstein died in May this year at the age of 91 Hedy Epstein, Rights Activist and Holocaust Survivor, Dies at 91 https://t.co/Q3o2MTnONo pic.twitter.com/FhPN5eQBoz — VOW Peace (@VOWPeace) June 1, 2016 RT reports: Documents reveal the FBI was monitoring Epstein’s work with the International Solidarity Movement and...more »

Munich police evacuated a shopping centre and a train station this afternoon after a tip off that a bomb was placed in the area. Pasing Arcaden shopping centre and Pasing railway station were evacuated as a precaution against another terrorist attack. A gunman killed 9 people a week ago in a shopping centre just a few miles away. #Munich: the Arcaden Shopping Mall in #Pasing has been evacuated, police units are at the scene pic.twitter.com/FQKoSuZiSE — I.E.N. (@GoldenKrant) July 30, 2016 The Daily Mail reports: Officers sealed off the area around Pasing Arcaden shopping centre and P...more »

Booker’s take on the Hinkley Point saga: In the nick of time, it seems, a glimmer of sanity is at last breaking in on what I have long been describing as the most insane single project a British government has ever put its hand to. We can credit the decision to put on […]

*July 30, 2016* (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Thailand faces an upcoming referendum regarding a new national charter meant to put the country back on track after over a decade of political conflict revolving around US-backed proxy Thaksin Shinawatra. Shinawatra and his foreign sponsors have increased pressure on the Thai government as the vote in early August nears. This includes maneuvering into place overt fronts engaged in political agitation, and leveraging the West's monopoly over the international media to portray any attempt to crackdown on such fronts as heavy-handed and unjust...more »

*SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2016Perhaps a bit less than accurate:* Reluctantly, we wanted to show you something Rachel Maddow said on last night's Rachel Maddow Show. We're going to have to wait! MSNBC hasn't posted a transcript yet, not even on Nexis. Having already burned our time transcribing remarks from Thursday evening's convention coverage, we'll be danged if we're going to burn more time transcribing last night's program. We could do it. But it would be wrong. MSNBC has a remarkably slacker corporate culture. At this, its official site, the channel has posted transcripts for exa...more »

*CROOK* I first met Miami Democrats Annette Taddeo and Joe Garcia at around the same time-- 2008. They were two of the three Democrats running for blue-trending congressional seats in Miami-Dade who were sabotaged by then DCCC Red-to-Blue chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She moved swiftly and effectively to cut off their legs and back her GOP cronies, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balart brothers. The DCCC's Red-to-Blue committee only has one job: defeating Republican incumbents and replacing them with Democrats. As chair, Wasserman Schultz made it clear she was on the other side...more »

*Lake Tahoe: Warmest water temperatures ever recorded* *Absurd to think that a climate record that goes back to 1968 only can give you a picture of a long term trend. But since the record goes back to 1968 only, we cannot test for a long term trend. We can however look at the air temperature record from the nearby Tahoe station. It's below. What do we see? We see that temperatures in the Tahoe area were markedly higher in the 1920s and 1930s. Tahoe as a whole has been COOLING long term. How likely is it that the lake is going to be different from its region? Clearly, the ...more »

Hillary Clinton has the Democratic nomination for president. Now the hard part begins. She'll have to climb a mountain. A substantial number of Americans see her as the status quo in an election where the majority of them are clamouring for change. Tom Walkom writes: When U.S. President Barack Obama called the former senator and secretary of state the most qualified presidential candidate ever, he wasn’t far off. When he noted on Wednesday night she was more qualified than both he and former president Bill Clinton had been when they first took office, he was absolutely correct. Co...more »

I returned from a vacation trip to San Diego a few days ago. I had not been in San Diego since the summer of 2011. Please see my post about the condition of tide pools that year at Wynd and Sea Beach in La Jolla. http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/speculation.html Unfortunately, this year we didn’t make it back to that same beach at low-tide so I wasn’t able to inspect the tide pools to see if they have recovered. I did visit La Jolla Cove with my family this year (1-2 miles north of Wynd and Sea). The water at La Jolla Cove was very, very warm at 79 degrees in La Jolla ...more »

Thousands of people in South Yorkshire have been told not to drink their tap water or use it for cooking after high levels of bacteria had been found. Yorkshire Water also warned that customers should refrain from cleaning their teeth with the water and not let their pets drink it. Bacteria detected in #DN8 water supply, DO NOT DRINK. Affected post codes, bottled water collection + more info here https://t.co/Eq8aF6kn3b — Yorkshire Water (@YorkshireWater) July 29, 2016 Sky News reports: Around 3,600 properties in parts of Thorne, near Doncaster, and the neighbouring village of Moore...more »

*So the headline reads.*...Is the US really concerned the humanitarian operation may be a ruse ? Or *does the concern lie with the fact that if the control of the portion of Aleppo*, which has been occupied by US/Israeli backed thugs, *swings back into the arms of Syria, *the *NATO backed destabilization of Syria is a fail!* Is the US additionally concerned at the possibility of *their thug/terrorist/killer inventory being reduced? **One way or another?* *The importance of the battle for Aleppo was written about here on January 16/2016 : Syrian Endgame Could Begin in Aleppo- Who Woul...more »

In his most recent book, Listen Liberal" Or, What Ever Happened To The Party Of The People, Thomas Frank put forward a compelling thesis that an American political realignment is already well underway. We've covered it before and you probably noticed it during the Democratic convention, especially on the last day, this week. They were applauding Ronald Reagan, extolling the military-industrial complex, escorting noisy progressives out of the building-- when they even let them *into* the building to begin with-- and ended with the music from *Hamilton*... a play based on a characte...more »

*Superhead who claimed Britain's education was broken puts pupils in detention at lunch and restricts food if their parents have failed to pay for school meals* *Interesting that nobody has mentioned the idea of getting the father to contribute to his son's food expenses* A headteacher who made her name at a Tory party conference by claiming Britain's education was 'broken' is forcing children to eat by themselves and restricting food as a punishment for their parents failing to pay for school lunches. Katharine Birbalsingh, a favourite of former education secretary Michael Gove...more »

A general view shows the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) (L) in central Moscow, Russia, November 10, 2015. REUTERS/SERGEI KARPUKHIN *Reuters: **Russia says spyware found in state computer networks* Russia's intelligence service said on Saturday that the computer networks of 20 organizations, including state agencies and defense companies, have been infected with spyware in what it described as a targeted and coordinated attack. The Federal Security Service, the FSB, said the malware and the way the networks were infected were similar to those used in previous cas...more »

AA Photo *BBC:* *Turkey-PKK conflict: Dozens killed in south-east clashes* The Turkish military has killed 35 Kurdish militants who tried to storm a base in the south-east, officials say. The overnight attack, in the Cukurca district of Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, came hours after clashes between soldiers and militants left eight soldiers dead in the area. A ceasefire between Turkey's military and the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) broke down in July last year. The army is reeling from a huge purge following a coup attempt two weeks ago. *Read more* .... *Mor...more »

*Al Jazeera*: *Erdogan to West: 'Mind your own business'* Turkey's president criticises Western countries for failing to show solidarity with Ankara over failed coup attempt. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at Western leaders for failing to show solidarity with Ankara over a failed coup attempt, saying countries who worry more about the fate of the perpetrators than democracy cannot be Turkey's friends. Speaking at the presidential palace in Ankara late on Friday, Erdogan said Western leaders who were criticising the Turkish government's reaction to the July...more »

*Breitbart:* *Pro-Beijing South China Sea Propaganda Video Appears in Times Square* A three-minute propaganda video promoting Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea has begun playing in New York City’s Times Square, raising immediate objections from a British politician who says she was deliberately misquoted in the film. China Daily describes the video as showcasing “the beauty of South China Sea and the Nanhai Zhudao” and detailing the “history of the region” before stressing that China “is the first to have discovered, named, explored and exploited the islands and...more »

*Times of India/PTI*: *Amid South China Sea tensions, Chinese army training hard under Xi Jinping to win wars* BEIJING: Undergoing radical transformation to increase its combat capability amid rising tensions over the disputed South China Sea, President Xi Jinping is pushing China's 2.3 million-strong PLA (People's Liberation Army) which turns 89 on Sunday to train hard to win wars as it expands its high tech arsenal. Reorganised from top to bottom by Xi in the last four years, the PLA - the world's largest - is bracing for major showdowns in its increasingly volatile neighbourho...more »

A destroyer flotilla under the South China Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducts an anti-submarine training recently. (navy.81.cn/Zeng Xingjian, Li Zhanglong) *Business Insider*: *Major Chinese state paper calls for a military strike on Australian ships that enter the South China Sea* China’s state-run Global Times has published an editorial attacking Australia for supporting the recent international ruling on China’s activities in the South China Sea and called for strikes on any Australian ships which might undertake “freedom-of-navigation” ...more »

*From* *Jenna Orkin* IMF Studies Sovereign Debt Restructurings, Admits Its Policy Was Responsible For Greek Depression US Admits It "Found A Problem" In Calculation Of GDP Turkey Creates "Traitors' Cemetery" For Dead Coup-Plotters Bernie Sanders Leaves The Democratic Party Countries are spending millions to control the weather — and it’s working 'Unique, strange, and terrible' — ISIS may have created a new type of bomb The Democrats' House campaign committee confirms it was hacked INSTANT POLL: Americans viewed Clinton's convention speech more favorably than Trump's 16 incredible spy g...more »

[image: Ronald Reagan - 900] Ronald Reagan was an advocate of free trade throughout his presidency. But just like today, many Americans in the 1980s opposed free trade and pushed for measures that would keep the nation out of the global economy. Fortunately, Reagan argued...more »

[image: SKOKIE, IL - JUNE 24: Older, traditional food stamps are displayed June 24, 2004 at an Illinois Department of Human Services office in Skokie, Illinois. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman has announced all 50 states and the U.S. territories now provide Food Stamp Program benefits with EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) cards instead of the traditional paper coupon stamps. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)] Former New York City social services official Harry Fletcher will spend three years behind bars for giving food stamp benefits to ineligible people in exchange for bribes...more »

[image: This undated photo posted on Facebook on April 30, 2016, shows Micah Johnson, who was a suspect in the slayings of five law enforcement officers in Dallas, July 7, 2016, during a protest over recent fatal police shootings of black men. Johnson, the Army reservist who killed five Dallas police officers, had kept an unauthorized grenade in his room on an Afghanistan base in 2014, according to a report released Friday, July 29, by Army officials investigating a sexual harassment complaint against him. (Facebook via AP)] DALLAS (AP) -- The Army reservist who killed five Dallas po...more »

*Publishing change: *Due to Bob Nichol's other commitments these updates will now be delivered every two weeks instead of weekly. The next new update will be on August 13. - CP *"**Your Radiation This Week, July 16, to July 30, 2016"* By Bob Nichols *"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”* - Shiva (San Francisco) July 30, 2016 – "Good Day, this is “Your Radiation This Week.” These are the recorded Radiation Highs that affected people in the last 2 weeks around the United States and in your neighborhood. There is no way to recover from these kinds of exposures. There is n...more »

*"WWIII, Clinton & the Deep State"* by Chris Campbell "A video has surfaced of the recent- and barely reported- attack on northern Syria by U.S.-led forces which killed 73 civilians. Twenty of the deaths were reportedly women and 35 of them were children. It’s gruesome. But if you’re someone who can stomach the reality of the situation, take a look… Click *here* if you dare. [As you can see, that link probably doesn't work. After I posted the video on my Facebook page, it was promptly deleted from Facebook and, it seems, Youtube, too. So much for journalism, truth and free speech...more »

*"We Were Made For These Times"* by Clarissa Pinkola Estes "My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people. You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded...more »

Strawbs, “Lay Down” (1972) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g0r9JYPcCo "Lay down, I lay me down. Lay down, I lay me down. Lay down, I lay me down, For my soul. By still waters I lay down with the lambs, In pastures green I made peace with my soul. And I cared not for the night While my guiding star shone bright. By still waters I lay down, I lay down. Lay down, I lay me down. Lay down, I lay me down. Lay down, I lay me down, For my soul. At the roadside I took toll of my times, In dirty streets I made peace with my soul. May the merciful be right, Are you ready for the night? At the ...more »

“A now famous picture from the Hubble Space Telescope featured Pillars of Creation, star forming columns of cold gas and dust light-years long inside M16, the Eagle Nebula. This false-color composite image views the nearby stellar nursery using data from the Herschel Space Observatory's panoramic exploration of interstellar clouds along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Herschel's far infrared detectors record the emission from the region's cold dust directly. *Click image for larger size.* The famous pillars are included near the center of the scene. While the central group of hot...more »

*“What Not to Believe”* by Chet Raymo “In Stacy Schiff's biography of Cleopatra, I came across this epigraph from Euripides: "Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe." I have no idea which of Euripides' plays the quote is from, but it strikes me as a suitable source for reflection. Credulity is the default state of a human life. Children are born to believe, to accept as true what they are told by adults. An innate credulity has survival value in a dangerous world. If a grown-up says "There are crocodiles in the river," it is probably best to stay out ...more »

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." - M. Scott Peck

*“Avoiding Negative Vibrations: * *Taking on the Energy of Others”* by Madisyn Taylor, the DailyOm “In order to protect ourselves from taking on any negative energy from other people or situations we can learn to shield. There are times when you may find that being around certain individuals or groups of people leaves you with feelings of discomfort. It may be that spending time with a particular friend feels draining or that dealing with a specific coworker exhausts you. Being around toxic or angry people is also draining. And you may even find that being surrounded by a crowd of ...more »

*“I Don’t Know If The Stars Rule The World”* “I don’t know if the stars rule the world, Or if Tarot or playing cards Can reveal anything. I don’t know if the rolling of dice Can lead to any conclusion. But I also don’t know If anything is attained By living the way most people do. Yes, I don’t know If I should believe in this daily rising sun Whose authenticity no one can guarantee me, Or if it would be better (because better or more convenient) To believe in some other sun, One that shines even at night, Some profound incandescence of things, Surpassing my understanding. For now... (Le...more »

"I, too, had set out to be remembered. I had wanted to create something permanent in my life- some proof that everything in its way mattered, that working hard mattered, that feeling things mattered, that even sadness and loss mattered, because it was all part of something that would live on. But I had also come to recognize that not everything needs to be durable. The lesson we have yet to learn from dogs, that could sustain us, is that having no apprehension of the past or future is not limiting but liberating. Rin Tin Tin did not need to be remembered in order to be happy; for h...more »

Success! Success I tell you! Keeping up with that mortgage and the 24% interest rate credit cards? Payday loans, pawn shops, bank overdraft fees you say? Ouch. How about those insurance premiums, what a great deal, right? Prescription costs sky high- *if* you have the money? So sorry. And no worries about losing your job, if you're lucky enough to have one, eh? Economic success! All together now, "We're number 1! We're number 1!" Yeah... - CP

"The Grapes of Wrath" (Excerpts) by John Steinbeck "They breathe profits; they eat the interest on money. If they don't get it, they die the way you die without air, without side-meat." [referring to the banks- CP] "The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it." "It ain't that big. The whole United States ain't that big. It ain't that big. It ain't big enough. There ain't room enough for you an' me, for your kind an' my kind, for rich and poor together all in one country, for thieves and honest men. For hunger and fat." ...more »

*"Bye Bye Middle Class: The Rate Of Homeownership In * *The United States Has Hit The Lowest Level Ever"* By Michael Snyder "The percentage of Americans that own a home has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. During the second quarter of 2016, the non-seasonally adjusted homeownership rate fell to just 62.9 percent, which was exactly where it was at when the U.S. Census began publishing this measurement back in 1965. This is not what a “recovery” looks like. All throughout the Obama years, the percentage of Americans that own a home has gotten smaller and smaller and smaller....more »

*"Champion of the Downtrodden?"* by Pater Tenebrarum “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” – H.L. Mencken "A mass e-mail has been making the rounds lately, and it is quite possible that many of our readers have already seen this. For those who haven’t, we wanted to share this moment of hilarity provided to us by Deep State candidate Hillary Clinton. It revolves around this picture: Hillary Clinton delivers a speech – the topic was reportedly “inequality”. The rubes seem desperate to touch the expensive cloth cling...more »

For the second part of yesterday's trip, I left the Snye for a few minutes to take a look at a small pond at Borealis Park. It was my first time here in quite awhile and usually I can find something of interest swimming around....more grebes and common goldeneye as it turned out. A good reminder that yesterday's retreat from the far side of the Snye was a good idea. Once back to the Snye, I didn't spend too much time poking around other than to spend several minutes playing hide-and-seek with a spotted sandpiper. At the far end is a rather nice sandy area that is well-used by ...more »

[image: In this July 28, 2016 photo, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reacts after speaking during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. For eight summer nights, there were two starkly different visions of America at the Republican and Democratic political conventions. (AP Photo/John Locher)] Wikileaks released nearly 20,000 emails from Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffers just days before the convention kicked off. The leaks, dating from January 2015 to May 2016, reveal Democratic staffers colluding with certain media outlets and...more »

(Illustration courtesy Bell) *DoD Buzz:* *Marines’ Future Helicopter Will Be Optionally Manned: General* As the Marine Corps enters the final stages of preparing to receive the CH-35K King Stallion, its new heavy-lift workhorse helicopter, aviation officials are already looking forward to the Corps’ next generation of rotorcraft. Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant of aviation, told reporters Friday at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., that the Corps had asked for optionally manned capability for the Pentagon’s future vertical lift plan, wh...more »

The men who attacked the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. Photograph: REUTERS TV/Reuters *The Guardian*: *The Theatre Of Terror* Terrorists have almost no military strength so they create a spectacle. How should states respond? The author of Sapiens, a history of humanity, reflects on the past, and alarming future, of the fear factor As the literal meaning of the word indicates, terror is a military strategy that hopes to change the political situation by spreading fear rather than by causing material damage. This strategy is almost always adopted by very weak parties, who are unabl...more »

In 1976, reconnaissance officer George Morgan, left, and pilot Eldon 'Al' Joersz set the world aviation speed record in an Air Force SR-71 Blackbird spy jet. Their record -- 2,193 mph -- still stands. *Daily Mail:* *World's fastest jet crew are reunited with the supersonic SR-71 Blackbird spy plane - which is still the fastest plane ever built, 40 years later* * Pilot Al Joersz and reconnaissance system officer George Morgan reunite with SR-71 spy plane * On July 28, 1976, Joersz and Morgan flew faster than a speeding bullet * The Blackbird reached 2,193 miles per hour - one mile ...more »

[image: Former U.S. Department of Justice attorney Don Lewis, left, speaks after being added to Ramsey County Attorney John Choi's, right, team as they investigate the July 6 death of Philando Castile in suburban St. Paul, Minn. "This independent perspective can only enhance the integrity and legitimacy of our decision in this case," Choi said Friday, July 29, 2016. "This is ultimately what justice requires." (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)] PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A Minnesota prosecutor said Friday that he won’t step aside but will add a special prosecutor to his team as he decides wh...more »

[image: Pope Francis, background, is framed by a barbed wire as he prays in front of the Memorial at the former Nazi Death Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Oswiecim, Poland, Friday, July 29, 2016. Pope Francis paid a somber visit to the Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau Friday, becoming the third consecutive pontiff to make the pilgrimage to the place where Adolf Hitler's forces killed more than 1 million people, most of them Jews. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)] OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) -- Choosing silence to convey his sorrow, Pope Francis visited the former Nazi death factory at Au...more »

*Non-stringy quantum gravity is all about "who sleeps with whom"* Nautil.us offers us some very light reading about "science and the society": This Physics Pioneer Walked Away from It All Fotini Markopoulou is most famous for her being a former wife of Lee Smolin. Completely accidentally, Lee Smolin has also been presenting her as one of the new Einsteins. For example, in a Smolin-inspired 2010 Nude Socialist article, her "quantum graphity" was listed as one of the seven "theories of everything", on par with string theory. Markopoulou had to be at least a peer of Edward Witten; Garr...more »

The week at Retraction Watch featured a PhD student expelled for submitting a paper without her co-authors’ permission, and a look at the six types of peer reviewers. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: “The average patient and even people in health care . . . kind of let their guard down when they’re in that database.” Some companies […] The post Weekend reads: What lurks in clinical trial databases; plagiarism by Russian ministers; why journals shy away from fraud allegations appeared first on Retraction Watch.

*By Doug Martin, Author of Hoosier School Heist* Two of the biggest threats to public education in America are Eli Broad and Walmart’s Alice Walton, and they are both giving big to Hillary’s Victory Fund for her presidential race. Over the years for various offices and in various election cycles, Eli Broad has given Hillary $17,400, according to FEC records. But this year, Broad, a huge charter school promoter and longtime Clinton family friend, is upping the ante. In January 2016, Broad handed Hillary’s Victory Fund $33,400. ] Hillary’s Victory Fund is a joint fund which ...more »

[image: FILE - In this Sunday, July 10, 2016 file photo, police officers watch protesters gathering against another group of protesters in Baton Rouge, La. The images offer a sharp contrast: In some places, police in SWAT gear wield batons or carry long guns as they corral streets teeming with protesters. Elsewhere, officers are seen riding around on bicycles, mingling with demonstrators and even posing for selfies. (Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP, File)] ATLANTA (AP) -- The images offer a sharp contrast: In some places, police in SWAT gear wield batons or carry long guns a...more »

[image: Hillary Clinton - 900] You just knew it was going to be a good night. Hillary shined on that stage. Her tics and tremors and mysterious coughs were all but absent. Her voice had little of the usual blood-freezing screechiness. She looked human. She...more »

[image: FILE - This 2006 file photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is behind the large outbreaks of Zika virus in Latin America and the Caribbean. On Friday, July 29, 2016, Florida said four Zika infections in the Miami area are likely the first caused by mosquito bites in the continental U.S. All previous U.S. cases have been linked to outbreak countries. (James Gathany/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP, File)] MIAM...more »

[image: AP Exchange] In a desperate effort to cope with worsening food shortages, the government of Venezuela has approved a new law that allows the government to force citizens into agricultural labor. According to Vice News, the law, approved by President Nicholas Maduro's...more »

[image: People with Turkish flags gather at the 15 July martyrs square in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, July 29, 2016. The government crackdown in the coup's aftermath has strained Turkey's ties with key allies including the United States. (AP Photo/Ali Unal)] ISTANBUL (AP) -- An Istanbul court has released hundreds of enlisted conscripts under arrest as part of the investigation into the July 15 abortive coup, the state-run Anadolu news agency says. After taking their testimony, prosecutors working for the Istanbul...more »

A major investigation by Police Scotland has identified 523 potential victims of online child sex abuse after it uncovered as many as 30 million indecent images. Operation Lattise has so far resulted in the arrest of 77 people on charges including rape, bestiality, sharing indecent images of children, sexual extortion and grooming. The investigations are ongoing. RT reports The child victims, some as young as three, had been found after the homes of 83 suspects were searched and 547 computers and other devices seized during the operation. Charges include rape, sharing indecent images...more »

So has Hillary promised Bill he can recuit all the interns just to get him to turn on the Bill worms in your skull like change a holic Hillary has been thirty years and addict sounds like undiagnosed ADHD

Its Christmas morning I am more disappointed than a druid suffering the cultural approriation of the bible Its 104 degrees it must be hell but its man made so on this fact we must dwell and seek solutions instead of air con symphonyies that ring louder than lost dial tones in worseing harmony humans

[image: This March 15, 2016, file photo shows Eric Gandah walking past a NC Voter ID sign as he enters a precinct to cast his ballot in Greensboro, N.C. A federal appeals court on Friday, July, 29, 2016, blocked a North Carolina law that required voters to produce photo identification and follow other rules disproportionately affecting minorities, finding that the law was intended to make it harder for blacks to vote in the presidential battleground state. (H. Scott Hoffmann/News & Record via AP, File)] CHICAGO (AP) -- Courts dealt setbacks to Republican efforts in three states to r...more »

It was with wry amusement when I read in this morning's *Telegraph* that "senior figures" in the Labour Party (all anonymous, of course) are working through the possibility of usurping the front bench and laying legal claim to the party's name and assets should Citizen Smith fail in his leadership bid. The paper says that they plan to set up their own alternative shadow cabinet to challenge the Tories and, via parliamentary chicanery, get the Speaker to designate them the official opposition. Colour me sceptical. Advocates of this shadow shadow cabinet were all over the media last...more »

[image: Temporary dining room at Gan Shmuel, 1953, a kibbutz in Israel's Haifa District, east of Hadera.] Israel is an entrepreneurial hotbed and one of the leading countries to which the world looks for technical innovation. It also has a very successful arms manufacturing industry and a strong and growing pharmaceutical sector. It has gone from being...more »

Weapons were stolen from the Panzer Kaserne military base near Stuttgart earlier this month and have not yet been located according to US officials. There are now concerns that the arms may have ended up on the black market, or in the wrong hands. The facility serves as a local garrison headquarters and an operational base for elite units, including the Green Berets and Navy SEALS. The US Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) is offering a $10,000 reward for any leads. RT reports: “Several semi-automatic pistols, one small-caliber automatic rifle and a shotgun were among the item...more »

*Pigeon cages.* This week the focus was on the asset bill directed at the KMT. The bill has solid support: yet another poll came out showing public support for the recent passage of the KMT assets bill: 53.9% say that it is an important step in transitional justice. Solidarity translated the recent TISR poll on it, noting that 61% support the bill and only 11% believe the KMT's story on its assets. The public is on board with the idea of KMT assets being transferred to the state as a form of transitional justice... The legislature approved the law on Monday. The Taipei Times report...more »

[image: In this March 3, 2016 file photo, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, left, arrives at Maryland Court of Appeals in Annapolis, Md. The Baltimore's top prosecutor is facing criticism that she moved too quickly to file charges against six officers in the death of Freddie Gray without first ensuring there was enough evidence to bring them to bear. A judge on Monday, May 23, acquitted Officer Edward Nero of the assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges in the April 2015 arrest of the African-American man. Legal experts say the acquittal in the raciall...more »

Three top Irish bankers were jailed for up to three-and-a-half years on Friday for for their role in the 2008 financial crisis. At the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, Judge Martin Nolan convicted the trio for conspiring to defraud investors in the most prominent prosecution arising from the 2008 banking crisis that crippled Irelands economy. Former Irish Life and Permanent Chief Executive Denis Casey received two years and nine months after being found guilty in the country’s longest ever criminal trial, which lasted 74 days. The ex-finance director at the failed Anglo Irish B...more »

[image: BreakPoint Extreme Abortion Laws - 900] It hasn't even been a month since the Supreme Court handed down a decision many saw as a massive setback for the pro-life movement. But new data shows that it's the supporters of legal abortion, not pro-lifers, who face an...more »

[image: American_flag] Where does a true patriot turn in the 2016 presidential election? The Democratic Party’s national convention is attempting to lay claim to the patriot mantle. Yet the party is not quite there. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was heckled with...more »

Scientists have come across a new class of powerful antibiotics in their fight against drug-resistant superbugs. Researchers in Germany took a close look at what lurks inside a human nose and accidentally came across a new strain of antibiotic that is effective against multi-resistant pathogens. Futurism reports: The discovery came about through the swabbing and analysis of nasal bacteria in 90 study participants, which revealed a strain of bacterium called Staphylococcus lugdunensis. The researchers have since developed a drug based on the strain, called Lugdunin, and it’s part of ...more »

[image: Pilgrims pray as Pope Francis leads the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession on July 29, 2016 at Blonia Park in Krakow to, as part of his visit during the World Youth Days. Pope Francis is in Poland for an international Catholic youth festival with a mission to encourage openness to migrants.] KRAKOW -- “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Hillary Clinton quoted FDR’s famous declaration during her acceptance of the Democratic nomination for president. And she also said that Americans aren’t fearful. They are frustrated and angry, she...more »

[image: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her running mate Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wave to supporters at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Thursday, July 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)] The Democratic Party has perhaps never been so radical or so conventional. The Democrats are now to the left of President Barack Obama and are desperately trying to placate the teary-eyed, obstreperous shock troops of the Bernie Sanders Revolution, yet...more »

A seven-year-old girl was killed by an elephant at a zoo in Morocco after being hit on the head by a stone. A female elephant hurled a stone in the direction of a 7-year-old girl visiting the Zoological Garden of Rabat in Morocco, fatally injuring her. Breaking News reports: The behaviour of the female elephant was “abnormal” and needs to be examined, a vet at the zoo said. The girl was at the Zoological Garden of Rabat with her family on Tuesday, admiring three elephants, when one picked up a stone and tossed it more than 10 metres over a large ditch and a wooden barrier toward the...more »

[image: Jeff Kemp - 900] What has happened recently that you didn't want to happen? Could it be a signal for change in your life? Game Plan "About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were...more »

By Paul Homewood http://www.cfact.org/2016/07/23/keeping-the-poor-impoverished/ Paul Driessen writes for CFACT: We are just now entering the age of industrialization, newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte said recently, explaining why the Philippines will not ratify the Paris climate accords. “Now that we’re developing, you will impose a limit? That’s absurd. It’s being imposed upon us […]

[image: DipperView2] A private kindergarten building designed by Wright in 1923. *Wright proposed the same building as a children's building for Florida Southern College and that the general plan, greatly enlarged, formed the basis of the Roux Library there.In a playful mood, perhaps, Wright here combines triangle, square, and circle in a single design* [image: DipperPlan] The “playhouse,” to be built on oil hieress Aline Barnsdall’s Olive Hill spread in Los Angeles, was designed (says architectural historian Donald Johnson) “to fit … on a steep slope halfway down the west si...more »

*One thing I like about Taiwan: dogs and cats go everywhere with their people.* A while back I was having some tests done at the hospital. I'm lying there on the table (biking bonus: resting pulse is 61) and the tech is having a chat with me while we wait for the meds to kick in: *where are you from, how do you feel about Taiwan?* etc. "Oh, I love Taiwan. People are so friendly." "Yes," he agreed, "we are friendly to everyone except to those..." his voice drops "mainland Chinese." It should be obvious by now to anyone who has spent at least twenty minutes on Taiwan that (1) Taiwan...more »

(Due to Blogger blow-ups, the Thursday night Convention coverage will come later) Blame It on the Russians Dems Dropping the N Word: When in Trouble, Blame Ralph The Clintons Celebrated, But Likely a Disaster for the Rest of the World So, at the end of the truly bought-and-paid-for New Democrat(ic) Convention we learn that the Clintons are very happy (why not?), our saviors like Alan Grayson

The United States is fast falling out of favour internationally. This week witnessed a declaration of war against the West by North Korea as the Korean War heats up to boiling point for the first time since the 1950’s Armistice. This followed President Vladimir Putin’s dire warning in June – to international journalists – that the world is heading to war because of American actions. “It’s only you that [they] tell these fables to and you buy it and spread it to the citizens of your countries. Your people do not feel a sense of the impending danger, this is what worries me. How do you...more »

*Business Insider:* *Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet* The Air Force recently conducted a training exercise in which it dropped eight armored Humvee vehicles over Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It was conducted by US airmen from the 16th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina as part of Operation Crescent, which is an annual training exercise designed to test the Air Force's ability to mobilize quickly in response to a crisis. *Read more* .... *WNU Editor:* These drops sometimes go wrong .... *U.S. Air Force Drop Goes...more »

*Daily Mail:* *‘Opportunism won’t earn you a pardon’: Wikileaks hits back at Edward Snowden after whistleblower blasted the website for ‘leaking ordinary people’s emails’ * * WikiLeaks released DNC emails over the weekend causing chair to resign * But the data also included sensitive information of DNC donors and guests * Snowden tweeted that their 'hostility to even modest curation is a mistake' * The group hit back: 'Opportunism won't earn you a pardon from Clinton' National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and transparency website WikiLeaks are clashing over how best...more »

USS Missouri arrives in Pearl Harbor, 1998. Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy *Kyle Mizokami, National Interest*: *Nazi Germany's Battleship Bismarck vs. America's Iowa Class: Who Wins?* A World War II showdown that never was. Despite the vast scope of the Second World War, the navies of the United States and Nazi Germany fought few, if any, direct surface engagements. By the time of America’s entry into the war the Royal Navy had already sunk or neutralized the lion’s share of Hitler’s Kriegsmarine, with only Hitler’s U-boats remaining a substantial German threat. But what if the UK’s ...more »

*John Nuttall and Amanda Korody* *after **hearing verdict today* *"The world has enough terrorists...we do not need the police to create more." * *BC Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce* In what Vancouver Sun reporter Ian Mulgrew describes as a stunning decision, the Judge in the Canadian Terror Patsies trial today ruled that the pair were entrapped by the RCMP. She overruled last year's jury "guilty" decision and ruled that the police themselves broke the criminal code and if the guilty verdict were left to stand, it would obstruct justice. Well, that's about as clear a verdic...more »

All our systems are in crisis: Competition and greed have led to ever more conflict and chaos. The only way out is through cooperation and sharing: Justice and freedom for all. Adamski: Knowledge is useless unless it is combined with action. World teacher: Nothing happens by itself. Man must act and implement his will.

I was stuck at home for much of yesterday working around the house and fighting and winning a war against my washing machine so I wasn't able to get down to MacDonald Island as I had planned. I wasn't sure if the weather was going to cooperate either but today I made up for the delay. Officially I went down to do some birding but I also just really wanted to stretch my legs and enjoy the nice weather. As it turned out, I spent much longer outside than I had planned but it was all for good. After leaving Mac Island I headed over to a park and then to a sandy point where the Clear...more »

Up to 10,000 participants of the Ukrainian Cross Procession for Peace congregated on St. Vladimir Hill and walked to the Lavra Monastery in Kiev, Wednesday, where a prayer ceremony was held. The procession started at the opposite ends of Ukraine, with one group beginning on 3 July from the Holy Assumption Sviatohirsk Lavra in the eastern Donetsk region and the second taking off on 9 July from the Holy Assumption Pochaiv Lavra in the western Ternopil region. Both processions met in Kiev, marking the Baptism of Kievan Rus and go to the Monastery of the Caves.

In the framework of the multinational military exercise Sea Breeze, on Wednesday, July 27th, soldiers of the US Marines landed on one of the beaches in the Odessa region. This was reported by “Ukraine Press“. The Marines practiced disembarkation from a landing ship near the village of Lebedivka. The Americans were able to land on one of the beaches, after locals were asked to leave. The website adds that law and order was overseen by the soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine. The naval exercise Sea Breeze-2016 was conducted from 18th to 30th July in the Odessa and Nikolae...more »

*Business Insider: **Watch the Marines' F-35 fire an 80-round burst from its gun pod for the first time* On July 6, at the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland, US Marines carried out the first successful test of the F-35B's GAU-22 gun pod, Business Insider has confirmed. Five days later, the gun pod fired it's first 80-round burst. Both tests were resoundingly successful, and the video is posted below. Business Insider previously reported on the first test of the F-35A's integrated gun, but the gun pod, which will be used on the F-35B and C variants, is an entirely diff...more »

Judging from all the electronically amplified throat-clearing that marred an otherwise boring acceptance speech, Hillary Clinton seemed to be choking on her own platitudes. I couldn't help envisioning a scene from the great new Netflix series, *Stranger Things*, which I've been binge-watching all week as an antidote to the real horror of the Democratic National Convention. Right before tuning in to the robotic Chelsea introducing the robotic Hillary on Thursday night, I'd nearly gagged at the sight of a young boy coughing out a slimy eel-like creature into his bathroom sink. And so,...more »

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I've been 'around' for a few years now, pursuing the shifting goal of a sharable home-made surfers resource site focused on ease of use and variety of mostly adult ( whoa : I didn't say prurient ) content.